His Name

This past Sunday my Pastor, Chad Graves, presented a message from the text of the 3rd Commandment:

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Exodus 20:7.

I can not remember a time hearing this passage so clearly taught.  I believe that I have not truly understood this passage until now.  Forever I have only looked at this commandment as a warning against using the Lord's name in vain or in instances of cursing someone or something. I have never considered this commandment seriously and in the full context in which it was given.

Growing up I remember my dad telling us to always remember everywhere we go we are representing our God, our Family, and our Church.  This was one of those life lessons that I have always remembered (maybe not always followed as I should).  Through the message Sunday morning I was drawn back to this lesson from my dad and I believe it was finally solidified in my heart.

I am not going to attempt to re write the entire message.  If you would like to hear more you can listen to the service from Pauline here. 

Only a portion of this commandment is dealing with how we speak the name of the Lord.  I know I should only speak the name of God in complete holy reverence for who he is.  The context of this scripture deals with how we represent God in our lives as Lord of our lives.  Through salvation I now have a new identity, I have been bought by a price. In Galatians 2:20 Paul sums this thought up so clearly.  I do not want to live my life as if Christ died for nothing.  He died for me so I could have eternal life.  When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we take his name. 

I know that in my life I am guilty of taking on multiple identities or names at different times.  I take on identity from my job, from my family, and from my hobbies.  Altough these identities are not necessarily bad it is not the identity that is true to who I am.  My take home from this past Sunday is I need to clearly identify myself.  I need to strive to stay away from the corrupt identities of this world and also to be more conscience of representing my God as my identity and foundation.  In all things I must represent my God first and the rest are only modifiers of who I am.

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8

Choctaw Island Geo-Photo Blog with Instructions

Below is the same map I posted on Saturday. I have uploaded a few of the photos I took Saturday at Choctaw Island WMA to photo bucket as well as mapped the locations of each photo. Along with photos (Red Push Pins on map) I also placed trip notes with observations I made while at Choctaw (Yellow Arrows). The WMA feature data is provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's GIS Division.

Geo-Photo Blog Instructions.


-To zoom in onto the map you can use the scroll wheel of your computer mouse or the zoom controls in the upper left corner of the map.

-To pan click and drag the map to navigate around.

-To read a trip note or view a photo click the symbol of either feature.
-Once the pop-up appears you will see text for a trip note (Yellow Arrow) or a description of the photo (Red Push Pin) taken at the location. For a full sized view of the photo click the hyperlink in the photo's description area.

I hope you enjoy this first posting of the Arkansas Geo-Photo Blog!




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Choctaw Island WMA Geo-Photo Blogpost

Today I took advantage of the cooler temperatures and went for a walk around Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Desha County, Arkansas. I first visited Choctaw last fall and it became a favorite location to go for visits. With a huge diversity in habitat Choctaw Island offers outdoor enthusists opportunities for activity in all seasons.

Due to unforseen circumstances my original plans were changed for which trail I walked. I ended up walking a total of nearly 7 miles in a couple of different locations on the WMA. Below you will see an interactive map of the WMA. The trails and WMA features are provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's GIS division. In the upcoming days I will place locations of geotagged photos on the map as well as provide more discussion about the WMA.

Below is one photo I took while at Choctaw. It is of the Sand Field, a large open grassland in the southern portion of the WMA.

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